Weekend in North Carolina

I went to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit Jared this past weekend. Here's some photos of fun things we did.

1a) Free expression tunnel, i.e. graffiti wall. Totally legal. Totally fun. We spray painted tons and tons of things on the wall. We figured that gave us the best odds that something of ours would survive more than a couple of days. Turns out we were right. Jared walked through the tunnel a couple days later and nearly everything we painted was already covered up by other people's graffiti.

Here's where we tried out our tagging skills to see if we could ever be in a gang.

And here's where I drew a picture of myself so Jared won't forget me.

And here is lady liberty that Jared painted. She is winking. (Don't mind the pancakes. Those are part of someone else's picture. But aren't they amazing?)

And here is a portrait I painted of Jared. Jared wears bowties.

1b) This was not a planned activity, but we happened to see the Isaiah-man on campus while we were at the free expression tunnel. Here he is, standing at his portable podium, preaching to whomever will listen...which, at the time, was no one.

2) Beach. Always fun. But more fun in the Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific Ocean. Because it's warmer. The water couldn't possibly be more perfect. Unless it didn't have salt in it. That would make it better. But I'll deal with the salt if it could always be as warm as it was this day.



I love jumping pictures. So here we are jumping off a lifeguard tower.


3) The Aquarium. For those of you that don't know, I LOVE aquariums. And I really love octopuses. By the way, octopuses is the more correct plural form of octopus. "Octopi" was just a mistake that caught on too well. In hopes to maintain the illusion that I am not a nerd, I will cease writing octopus trivia and just show some pictures.

I also love carnivorous plants. Well, as much as one can love them without really knowing anything about them. Anyway, we saw some venus flytraps. They were really small, but still carnivorous.


Ok, that's enough.

So I had this epiphany...

I was driving home from work and it came to me. Actually, I was listening to a country song. Don't know the name of it, but it's a man talking about his family and there's this line that says, "little blue-eyed blonde with her shoes on wrong cuz she likes to dress herself." So that got me thinking about little kids and how they all get to a point where they want to be independent and start refusing help from their parents. Of course, if they fall down and get a booboo they always come crying to their parents for help then. But there are definitely those times when they want so badly to do things for themselves that they reject their parents' help even if it's to their detriment.

So I realized that this is exactly how we act with Heavenly Father! It's not a bad thing, but it is totally necessary for us to leave His presence (come to earth) and really learn things for ourselves. He is always there for us if we get hurt or scared, but He knows that we need independence and experience to progress. There was this great quote by Lorenzo Snow in the July Ensign that says, "We believe that we are the offspring of our Father in heaven, and that we possess in our spiritual organizations the same capabilities, powers and faculties that our Father possesses, although in an infantile state, requiring to pass through a certain course or ordeal by which they will be developed and improved according to the heed we give to the principles we have received."

Love that quote.

Living by faith, not fear

Today was one of those days where it seemed like everything I heard at church was presented JUST FOR ME. I love days like that. Except days when it's like, "REPENT, JENN!" Those days aren't as fun, but still just as important. Anyway, today was a good day. The most important thing I got out of church today was to LIVE BY FAITH, NOT FEAR. It's ridiculous to make decisions (or rather, NOT make decisions) because we are afraid! And yet I do it all the time. I'm afraid to quit my job, I'm afraid to start a new job, I'm afraid to go back to school, I'm afraid to move here or there, I'm afraid to date this person, I'm afraid to stand up for myself, I'm afraid to share the gospel...yada, yada, yada. I basically just exposed my every weakness, but whatever. I don't want to be afraid anymore. I realized that every time I make a decision (or fail to make a decision) based on fear, I am showing God that I don't have enough faith in Him that things will work out!

When it comes down to it, what I'm really afraid of is loss. Loss of life, loss of love, loss of income, loss of dignity, etc. Earlier this week, I was reading the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. I love that parable. Lazarus was a beggar. He had poor health, no food, and we can safely assume he also had no home and probably no friends. I don't know how his life evolved into him being a poor, sick beggar, but the point is, he experienced profound loss. But God, being the just and merciful God He is, comforted Lazarus when he died to make up for the bad things that happened during his life. What I learned from this regarding loss is that whatever is lost in this life will be restored. If we die, we will live again. If we experience heartache, we will be comforted. If we endure injustices for Christ's sake, we will be rewarded. Often, God comforts us during this life. But sometimes, we must wait to receive our reward. Either way, He will not leave us comfortless.

That's pretty much all I have on this subject. Anyone else have thoughts on how to live by faith, not fear?

What I Believe

Since this blog is an account of exciting and important things in my life, it would be devastatingly incomplete without a description of my beliefs. My life CENTERS around them!

I believe there is a God who is the Father of my spirit. Jesus Christ is His Son. They created this amazing earth and everything on and in it, including ME and YOU! I don't understand how they came to exist or where exactly they are, or how they hear my prayers, but I know they are there. When my faith wavers, I just rely on my HOPE. What a sad thought it would be to think that we are alone in this world with no one to look over us or help us or direct us.

I love to read the New Testament and learn about Jesus' ministry, miracles, atonement, and crucifixion. I believe those miracles really happened! Jesus Christ has the power to heal both body and spirit!

I also know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the WHOLE world. Not only did He minister to His own people, but He also appeared after His resurrection to the inhabitants of ancient America. He said, in John 10:16, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." The record of the people in America and the account of Christ's appearance there is contained in the Book of Mormon, which is ANOTHER TESTAMENT of Jesus Christ. It is not a substitution for the Bible, but a supplement. It is another testament of the same majestic Lord.


I believe that God has not left us without a prophet on the earth. There is a prophet who receives revelation from God for the WHOLE world! He does this through the power and authority of the priesthood - the same priesthood held by Jesus and His disciples. The priesthood was lost through apostasy, but it has been restored! Peter, James, and John (Christ's disciples) restored the priesthood to the earth in 1829 to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. They were given the authority to restore the church of Jesus Christ as it was during His ministry. That authority has been passed on and is now held by Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon church) and prophet of the world. To learn more about Joseph Smith and how he came to be a prophet, please see here.

I believe we are all God's children and should love each other without judgment, hate, prejudice, ignorance, or pride. We are truly all brothers and sisters. "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). "For I was an hungered, and ye have me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a stranger and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inanasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren; ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40).

I believe in living a pure life, clean from drugs, alcohol, and sexual immorality. I believe in taking care of and honoring my body, since it is a gift from God. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of god is holy, which temple ye are" (I Corinthians 3:16-17).

God loves us! He wants us to be happy. He will bless you with the knowledge of the truth if you ask. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

My first real vacation since Christmas!

I got to go home to Texas for a week at the beginning of July and had a great time. Basically, I spent the week doing nothing but playing. I spent most of my time doing something outside or playing Karaoke Revolution or Rock Band. While at home, I did a lot of swimming, playing with the dog, and hanging out with my 13-year-old sister and her friend. One day, we drove a couple hours to a historic town called Jefferson in east Texas. It reminded me of Stars Hollow! So this picture is for all you Gilmore Girls fans. A barbershop group was singing at the gazebo in the middle of town. I was looking everywhere for Kirk.

We also went on a boat ride on the Big Cypress Bayou. By the way, a bayou is just a very slow-moving river. It was really pretty and provided some much needed shade from the incredibly hot day.


We also went to our ranch and went swimming and fishing. And I got to drive the tractor to mow the front yard! I haven't got most of the pictures yet from my mom, so here is a picture of the lone bull, Lucky. He has a tuft of curly blonde hair which my mom thinks is "cute" and I think is oddly fake-looking.


To top it off, we met up with my sister and her kids and my aunt and cousin and went to a water park the last day I was in town. It was awesome, but my nephew wore me out! (And my waterproof digital camera somehow got water inside of it and no longer works! Too bad it happened THREE days after my warranty expired!) But besides that, it was great! This is Bubba, who is 7 years old and has more energy that I could ever hope for.


And this is my youngest nephew, Zach. He doesn't really remember me and cried or ran every time I came near him. Apparently, I couldn't even get him to look at me for a picture! But he is a cutie!


And this is my cousin, Laura, and sister, Leighana. (My camera was working fine, here!)


Finally, I have to point out that EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS. This is a not pride; it's just a fact. Check out the gigantic mosquito bite I got! And this was in the morning! Mosquitoes aren't supposed to come out till night! Use the dime for size reference.


And it KEPT GROWING! That thing was almost the size of my kneecap!

Zion!

It's been a while since I've posted. I guess I've been waiting for something post-worthy to happen. Well, I guess the day is here. I had a great weekend in Zion National Park with 3 friends. My mom tells me we've been there before, but I remember nothing about it (I was in high school at the time - you'd think I would have some memory of it, but no), so this was essentially my first time exploring the park. Here's the rundown:
Day 1 - We found a GEM of a campsite! In case you're ever looking for a free place to camp, when you're driving in toward the main entrance of the park (near Springdale), there's a great place on the right side of the road just before mile marker 24. It is right by the river and has great shade trees (PERFECT for slacklining!). Sadly, we all thought the other person would bring their slackline and we ended up without one at all.
Day 2 - One of the main reasons we wanted to go to Zion was to hike the Narrows. So Saturday morning, we headed into the park and hopped on the shuttle bus. Then, we realized we should probably get a map and figure out where the heck we were going. So we went into the visitor's center and I asked the ranger what shuttle stop we should get off at for the Narrows. I think he must have misunderstood and thought my question was, "can you please tell me how dangerous the Narrows hike is?" because his reply was, "The water temperature is currently 54 degrees. Hypothermia can occur in 1-2 hours and you will have to be in the waist-deep water for 4 hours." "Ok," I said, "let's just say I wanted to go LOOK at it. What shuttle stop would I get off at?" In the end, he reluctantly told me how to get there. So...we weren't going to be thwarted, but we decided it might be better to wait until the afternoon to do that hike. So we did Angel's Landing first. It was beautiful and had great views. It wasn't nearly as scary as I had imagined from the stories I've heard.




After Angel's Landing, we took a quick dip in the river and hopped back on the bus to go to the Narrows. WOW! It was so beautiful! The Narrows is the epitome of an oasis. I think I probably said the word "lush" about 10 times to describe the sights. There were cascading waterfalls, bright green trees, flowers growing out of cracks in the rock. I don't think my pictures nearly do it justice.




Oh, and the water was cold, but usually only ankle to knee deep and we were far from getting hypothermia.


There were squirrels and chipmunks everywhere! They weren't afraid of humans at all (they've obviously been fed way too much). After the Narrows, we were pretty exhausted. We headed back to camp, made dinner, and finished off the night playing a few rounds of this great dice game called Fill or Bust. What a great weekend!

Trip to LA

I had the opportunity to go to LA this weekend with my boss to hold a support group for parents living in the LA area that have kids in our residential treatment program. It was a quick trip - just about 36 hours total - but it was a good experience. This was my first time to travel for work (other than camping trips), so it was a big deal for me! There were about 25 parents there. I explained what recreation therapy is, what all we do in our program, and some new things we are starting. I also did a few experiential activities with the parents as an example of what we do with their kids. They seemed to really like it and I got great feedback from them that I hope to use to better our program.

We got to go to the beach for a couple of hours the first day. (Yes, it was a little awkward going to the beach with my boss - who is a married man twice my age - but hey, it was the beach.) It was beautiful, but a little chilly, so I didn't spend much time in the water. The hotel we stayed at was really nice, too. I was most excited about the IHome speakers in my room so I could hook up my ipod and listen to my music rather than the crappy radio. When I travel, I usually go for economy rather than luxury, so it was a treat to stay at such a nice place and bill it to the company!

Ignore the ugly foreground in this picture and just admire the sun reflecting off the water.